VANCOUVER, Nov. 25, 2014 /PRNewswire/ - Northern Dynasty
Minerals Ltd. (TSX: NDM; NYSE MKT: NAK) ("Northern Dynasty" or the
"Company") reports that U.S. Federal District Court for Alaska
Judge H. Russell Holland has granted
the Pebble Limited Partnership's ("Pebble Partnership" or "PLP")
request for a Preliminary Injunction in its litigation against the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA").
"Although the decision is a procedural victory and does not
resolve our claims that EPA pursued a biased and predetermined 404c
veto initiative against Pebble by not complying with the
requirements of the Federal Advisory Committee Act ("FACA"), the
decision is important for several reasons," said Tom Collier, CEO of the Pebble Partnership.
"Specifically, the court has granted a Preliminary Injunction
that blocks EPA from taking any further steps in the 404c
regulatory process it has initiated at Pebble before Judge Holland
is able to issue a final decision on the merits of our FACA case.
We expect the case may take several months to complete. This means
that, for first time, EPA's march to preemptively veto Pebble has
been halted."
Collier noted that PLP has raised concerns regarding FACA
violations—including that EPA secretly colluded with environmental
activists to bring about a predetermined result before undertaking
any scientific inquiry—entirely based on the select documents that
EPA has disclosed in response to Freedom of Information Act
("FOIA") requests.
Collier: "We know these are only the tip of the iceberg. We now
have the opportunity to conduct discovery regarding all
relevant documents and to conduct depositions of the key people
involved in the EPA process. The documents we have been able to
review thus far disclose more than 500 contacts between EPA and
activists. We fully expect that once we have access to all
documents there may be many times that number."
Collier noted that one criterion that must be met as a
prerequisite for a court granting a Preliminary Injunction is that
the claimant has a "likelihood of success on the merits." Although
EPA argued strongly that the Pebble Partnership could not meet that
test, the court found that it has.
"We are heartened by this procedural ruling in Pebble's favour,
and look forward to the discovery process and the opportunity to
fully argue the merits of our case before the court," said Northern
Dynasty President & CEO Ron
Thiessen. "We continue to believe that Pebble is a mineral
resource of national importance that deserves to be comprehensively
reviewed by federal and state regulatory agencies under the
National Environmental Policy Act and Clean Water
Act."
About the Pebble Project
The Pebble Project is an initiative of the Pebble Partnership to
responsibly develop a globally significant copper, gold and
molybdenum deposit in southwest Alaska into a modern, long-life mine, which
will benefit not only the owner, but the people, culture and
industries of the State of Alaska,
as well as suppliers, consultants and industries in the Lower 48
United States of America.
A 2013 study authored by IHS Global Insight, entitled The
Economic and Employment Contributions of a Conceptual Pebble Mine
to the Alaska and United States
Economies found the Pebble Project has the potential to support
15,000 American jobs and contribute more than $2.5 billion annually to US GDP over decades of
production. The IHS Global Insight study is available at
www.northerndynasty.com.
The Pebble Project is located 200 miles southwest of Anchorage
on state land designated for mineral exploration and development.
It is situated in a region of rolling tundra approximately 1,000
feet above sea-level, 65 miles from tidewater on Cook Inlet and
presents favourable conditions for successful mine site and
infrastructure development.
About Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd.
Northern Dynasty is a mineral exploration and development
company based in Vancouver,
Canada. Northern Dynasty's principal asset is the Pebble
Project in southwest Alaska, USA,
an advanced-stage initiative to develop one of the world's most
important mineral resources.
Ronald W. Thiessen
President & CEO
Forward Looking Information and other
Cautionary Factors
This release includes certain statements that may be deemed
"forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other
than statements of historical facts, that address exploration
drilling, exploitation activities and events or developments that
the Company expects are forward-looking statements. Although the
Company believes the expectations expressed in its forward-looking
statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements
should not be in any way construed as guarantees of the ultimate
size, quality or commercial feasibility of the Pebble Project or of
the Company's future performance or the outcome of litigation.
Assumptions used by the Company to develop forward-looking
statements include the following: the Pebble Project will obtain
all required environmental and other permits and all land use and
other licenses, studies and development of the Pebble Project will
continue to be positive, and no geological or technical problems
will occur. The likelihood of future mining at the Pebble
Project is subject to a large number of risks and will require
achievement of a number of technical, economic and legal
objectives, including obtaining necessary mining and construction
permits, approvals, licenses and title on a timely basis and delays
due to third party opposition, changes in government policies
regarding mining and natural resource exploration and exploitation,
the final outcome of any litigation, completion of pre-feasibility
and final feasibility studies, preparation of all necessary
engineering for open pit and underground workings and processing
facilities as well as receipt of significant additional financing
to fund these objectives as well as funding mine construction. Such
funding may not be available to the Company on acceptable terms or
on any terms at all. There is no known ore at the Pebble Project
and there is no assurance that the mineralization at the Pebble
Project will ever be classified as ore. The need for compliance
with extensive environmental and socio-economic rules and practices
and the requirement for the Company to obtain government permitting
can cause a delay or even abandonment of a mineral project. The
Company is also subject to the specific risks inherent in the
mining business as well as general economic and business
conditions. For more information on the Company, Investors should
review the Company's annual Form 40-F filing with the United States
Securities and Exchange Commission and its home jurisdiction
filings that are available at www.sedar.com.
SOURCE Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd.